Here's the deal in my house: Halloween candy can stick around until Christmas. Yep, that's right. They can have a candy from their bucket once a day if they choose but as of December 25, whatever is leftover is thrown out. Stale. Garbage. I say this because just when I thought I was done with candy for a while, this morning I noticed Valentine's Day decorations and candy everywhere. And next to that? St. Patty's Day stuff.

But back to the Halloween candy... the Candy Fairy takes some of my kids' candy on Halloween night in exchange for a little gift - but that still leaves them with a bucket of candy. Here's the funny thing: after about November 10, my kids don't even ask for Halloween candy. They're back to their usual dessert/treat requests. (Right now, my kids are all about Cuties, which are mini dairy-free ice cream sandwiches or mango sorbet).

This year I chucked the Halloween candy on December 24 - a day early - when the stomach bug started to go 'round in my house. (I won't bother with those details, but suffice to say, the last two weeks have not been relaxing). That day, the kids watched me empty dozens of candies into the garbage without a word, as they have in years past, and I wondered - why didn't I do this a month ago? Maybe our Halloween tradition should be October 31 until Thanksgiving? Maybe earlier?

As I gear up for the Valentine's Day onslaught, I'm thinking about holidays to come... perhaps 2015 will bring a new Halloween candy plan for us.

What's your Halloween/Valentine's candy strategy?